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Robbins-Mills Collection of Herbert Wendell Gleason Photographic Negatives, 1899-1937 Concord Free Public Library — Special Collections |
Series XII – Oregon and Washington, 1905-1917
Series XII (57 glass, 11 film) is organized into two subseries. Subseries are arranged by date. Oregon images consists of Portland scenes taken between 1905 and 1917. Subjects include Gleason's visit to the Lewis and Clark Exposition (official name was the Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair) during the summer of 1905. The exposition celebrated the 100th anniversary of Meriweather Lewis and William Clark's exploration of the Pacific Northwest. The Exposition covered 182 acres of land and 220 acres of water. Gleason photographed the Bridge of Nations, said to be the longest wooden bridge of its kind (2,000 foot span), and the U.S. Government Building. The Bridge crossed Guild's Lake connecting the mainland to a peninsular where the U.S. Government Building stood over 260' high. Other images include a special pavilion (Japan), cowboy sculpture, and an amusement ride.
Portland images include a view of Mt. Rainier taken from a train; a group of climbers (for Mt. Hood) posing outside the Hotel Portland; a view up the Willamette River from Boulevard Drive; Washington Park including the statues of "Sacajawea" and "Welcome to the White Man;" the Eagle Fish Hatchery and other sites along the Columbia Highway (the first modern highway constructed in the Pacific Northwest); views of the Columbia River, and private residences (including C.H. Sholes' residence).
Washington subjects include: crevasses on Sholes Glacier (Mt. Baker); Pioneer Square (Seattle's original downtown) including the Totem Pole (replica of a Tlingit work) and First Street; distant views of Mt. Rainier from Tacoma; portraits of George Rounds and family (Mrs. Gleason's relatives); and snap-shots of a lava flow taken from a train in eastern Washington. Two botanical images (Cassiope mertensiana and Bryabthus empetriformis) were used in John Muir illustrations. Gleason's photograph of Sholes Glacier- "Near view of crevasses on Sholes Glacier, Mt. Baker, August 4, 1906" was published in Crossette's Western Wilderness of North America.